Tuesday, March 3, 2015

After the first four games of the season, the Pioneers will jump into the southern division portion of their schedule. We will take the short trip east to Mt. Vernon to take on the Cornell Rams. In last years meeting we fought back to cut the lead to 14-10 at the end of the third quarter, and 21-17 midway through the fourth, before falling short. Cornell has proven to be a physical and talented opponent since re-joining the MWC in 2012, and we look forward to the challenge this fall.

1st team all-conference punter Graham Fisher got the scoring started vs Illinois College

We follow up the trip to Mt. Vernon with a trip south to Jacksonville, IL to face Illinois College. The Blueboys are the defending southern division champions, but they'll have a new look heading into the 2015 season without long-time starting quarterback Michael Bates. IC has always been able to score points, and it's our challenge to score with them. It should be an entertaining game.

Renteria seals the victory with this fumble recovery

The Pioneers return to Rosenbloom to take on the Knox Prairie Fire for the third of five divisional games. After a slow first half in last year's contest, the Pioneers completed a furious rally to win 21-18. Trailing 10-0 heading into the fourth quarter, we scored 21 straight to take control of the game. We gave up a late score, but sealed the victory when Scott Beecher forced a fumble that Rich Renteria returned to the Prairie Fire one yard line. We kneeled out the clock and earned a nice road win. Hopefully the 2015 contest is less dramatic!

After the home contest against Knox, the Pioneers will hit the road once again, traveling to Monmouth to take on the Scots. A traditional MWC power, it will be interesting to see how the departure of long-time head coach Steve Bell will affect the Scots. Before Bell's arrival, Monmouth was near the bottom of the league on a yearly basis, but since have strung together a sustained run of success matched only by St. Norbert. Two of our biggest recent wins have come over Monmouth though, and hopefully 2015 is another!

We finished with a big win on Senior Day in 2014, looking to do the same against Lake Forest in 2015

The Pioneers will celebrate Senior Day with their final home contest against Lake Forest. After two straight frustrating trips to the north shore suburb of Chicago, we are looking to turn the tables on the Foresters in 2015. The weather played quite a role in the 2014 contest, as we took an early 7-6 lead playing with the wind. After switching directions for the 2nd and 3rd quarters Lake Forest took advantage and built a 28-7 lead. We were able to cut into the lead with one fourth quarter score, but it was too little, too late. We should be fired up and ready to go in 2015, celebrating our seniors on Rosenbloom for the last time and playing for a higher seed for the crossover weekend. It should be an exciting day!

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

The GC Pride Campaign that began
this past fall during Pioneer Football’s home contest against Cornell College
continues this Friday and Saturday as Grinnell hosts the Midwest Conference
Indoor Track and Field Championship.The
Pioneer tracksters are excited to host the rest of the conference teams for a
championship meet, and they are expecting to have peak performances at the
right time, but they are also eager to do their part to further the GC Pride
Campaign.For a reminder, the Pride
statement is below:

The GC Pride Campaign is an
effort formed out of the belief that athletics should represent the many
identities of Grinnell College and the surrounding world.With the NCAA core value of diversity through
a commitment to create and support and inclusive culture that fosters equitable
participation for student-athletes in mind, we have partnered with the
Stonewall Resource Center, Office of Diversity & Inclusion, Office of the
Intercultural Engagement & Leadership and Athlete Ally.The athletics department is committed to
presenting opportunities to compete and learn that are inclusive of individuals
representing all sexual orientations, gender identities, races, religious and
cultural beliefs.The GC Pride Campaign offers
to us a moment as humans, Grinnellians and global leaders to take action and
set the tone for an entire cultural conversation.Together, we are stronger!The GC Pride Campaign enables the many voices
of the Grinnell community to join together in solidarity under a single
message: “Athletic fields, teams and competitions are a safe space for everyone.”

A lot of time, effort, and
thought went into that statement, and it does a great job articulating the type
of atmosphere we’re trying to create and promote here at Grinnell College.There are two things I’d like to emphasize
though, that I think are very important.The first point is that the Campaign is not the answer, it’s not the
end-game, but rather it’s the start.It’s our way, as a department of faculty, staff, and student-athletes,
to say we are willing to engage in these discussions and we want our teams to
be an environment where healthy dialogue can happen.We realize that no Campaign is going to
magically make everything ok, but we also want to make it clear that we’re
ready and willing to engage in the difficult conversations and we’re willing to
do what we can to make Grinnell as a whole, and our athletics spaces in
particular, a safe place for all.

The second thing I want to
emphasize is that the Campaign is not aimed or directed at any certain group,
but rather at all of us.The language
used in the statement (“inclusive of individuals representing all sexual
orientations, gender identities, races, religious and cultural beliefs”) is the
correct language, but it can sometimes lose it’s meaning.To make it more real, what we are saying is that
our athletic spaces should be safe whether you’re straight or gay.It means we’ll welcome you whether you’re a
man or a woman, or whether you identify anywhere else along the gender
spectrum.It mean’s we want you on our
team whether you’re black or white or tan or anywhere in between.It means you’re welcome to worship as a
Christian or a Jew or a Muslim.It
mean’s we’ll embrace your background whether it’s of European decent, or
African, or Asian or Hispanic/Latino.The language may not be right, but the sentiment is genuine.The GC Pride Campaign is our way of saying no
matter who you are or where you’re from, or how you identify, we want you to be
a Pioneer and we’ve got your back.

If you’re in the area this
Friday or Saturday, stop by the Field House at the Bear Recreation and Athletic
Center and come cheer on the Grinnell Pioneer men’s and women’s track and field
teams.You’ll see some incredible
student-athletes who represent every one of the qualities I just mentioned, and
who represent the best of what Division 3 athletics has to offer.It’s going to be a great weekend!

Monday, February 23, 2015

The Pioneers are looking forward to the 2015 season and the opportunity to add a few more notches in the win column. In the second, and final season of divisional play, our schedule will be the same as last year, with the location of the games flipped. With the departure of Carroll University following the 2015 season, the schedule will look significantly different in 2016.

Zach McGriff scores his first career TD against Beloit

The non-conference portion of the season will kick off with home contests against Beloit and Luther, September 12th and 19th respectively. Against Beloit last year the Pioneers started slow and dropped a close game 23-27, our first loss against Beloit since 2009. The Buccaneers will once again have a game under their belt before we play them, but the emphasis this year will be on starting fast and avenging our loss.

Emmi Sandoval keeps his balance to score vs Luther

Following the Beloit game, we host in-state opponent Luther College, and their triple-option attack. Luther's offense provides a challenge, but one we look forward to. A big second quarter won the game for Luther last year, but the teams were an even 21-21 in quarters one, three, and four. We're looking for a more consistent level of execution from both sides of the ball in the rematch this year.

Rich Renteria's scoop and score provided a spark against Macalester

The next two games on the schedule are the crossover games against opponents from the northern division. We will travel to St. Paul to play rival Macalester College. After a close 21-16 victory over us last year, the Scots ran off seven straight victories to win the conference. They will obviously be heading into the 2015 season full of confidence and momentum, but ideally we will have established momentum of our own by that point. This is definitely one of the more anticipated matchups of the season.

David Ternes celebrates one of a school record 4.5 sacks vs Lawrence

We follow up the Macalester game with another home contest against Lawrence. With a new head coach it will be interesting to see what the Vikings look like next year, but we are excited to be facing Lawrence at home. In my time as the head coach we've averaged 32.3 points per game against Lawrence at home and only 25.3 on the road. We're looking to add to that home total this year.

The rest of our schedule will be against our southern division opponents. I'll preview those later in the week.

Monday, February 9, 2015

Ed Hardman in the 60 Meter Prelims at the 2014 Indoor Conference Championship

After our first two indoor track meets of the season, our two-sport guys are starting to have an impact. Though most of them haven't run competitively for at least a year, if not two or more, they're starting to get their track legs. A current look at our all-time top ten list shows the impact they've had already. Hopefully more to come!

Thursday, January 29, 2015

I'm linking to the blog of another coach and athletic director, as I appreciate his comments about multi-sport athletes: http://highschoolsportsstuff.areavoices.com/2015/01/20/one-sport-athletes
I'm 100% in favor of participating in two, or even three, sports in high school. I'm even in favor of multi-sport athletes at the division 3 level. A quick look at our roster shows quite a few multi-sport athletes:

Saturday, January 24, 2015

With the lull between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl, the controversy surrounding the New England Patriots under-inflated footballs has taken on a life of its own. Whether you think the Patriots are one of the better franchises in NFL history, and that this is being blown way out of proportion or whether you think this is the latest example in a long history of cheating, chances are you're tire of hearing about it. Either way, from the point of view of a former tight end and quarterback with smaller hands, an under-inflated football can indeed be easier to throw and catch, but Brady started the second half 9 for 9 with properly inflated balls, so I don't think it made a bit of difference in the game (I'm sure you've already heard that too).

Instead of commenting further about the controversy, or about the proper inflation of footballs, I'm here to argue that a player's mindset is more important than the actual ball or any other circumstances. As evidence, I present to you Pioneer Football's own deflate gate.

In early 2012 we were hosting a heavily favored Monmouth team on a grey and overcast day. We had upset Monmouth on their home field in 2010 and they had beaten us soundly at our place in 2011. Heading into the 2012 matchup they were heavily favored once again.

Leading up to the game we'd left the game balls with the officials as always, and continued with the warmups. As the team was heading to the locker room at the end of warmups, our QB's and WR's coach came up to me and said the officials had taken the balls because they were under-inflated and had "pumped them up way too hard." Our QB and several of our receivers also came up to me, "coach, the balls are way to hard, they're slick, they're very hard to handle." They were all upset. I told them to head to the locker room and that I'd talk to the official.

I went over to the bag of game balls and they did seem pretty hard. The official came over and insisted they were at the correct level, and that I needed to leave them alone, so I left for the locker room to join the team. Once I got inside I could see the coaches and the skill guys looking to me or an answer. I told them to relax, I'd talked to the official and he'd taken quite a bit of air back out and that they were just like our QB liked them. I honestly didn't think they'd buy it, but they did. We went on to play our best game of the season, upsetting Monmouth 21-7. Our QB, Sam Poulos completed 28-35 passes for 240 yards and 3 td's, and our best WR Cody Weber had 15 receptions for 165 yards and 2 td's. Weber was named to the D3football.com team of the week and was the Midwest Conference Offensive Player of the Week. One of the td passes from Poulos to Weber was the D3football.com Play of the Week: Play of the Week.

As I said earlier, the mindset of a player is more important than circumstances (ball, weather, opponent, etc.). Our guys thought the ball was how they wanted it so it was no longer a distraction and they could focus on the job at hand.

And as one final footnote, I don't think I ever told Sam or Cody or Coach Bell that I might have fibbed to them a little before the game. Hope you guys don't mind!

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Nine Pioneers were named to the Dean's List after the fall semester, the most in one semester since I've been tracking it. The previous high was four in the Spring of 2011 (Drew Blumberg - BioChem, Seth Howard - Psychology, Chris Jarmon - English, and TJ Schaid - BioChem). It is also important to note that nine Pioneers represents over 20% of our roster.

In order to be named to the Dean's List an individual must maintain a semester GPA of 3.75 or higher while carrying 16 credits, 14 of which must be regular letter-grade credits. The recipients this semester were:

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Who are Grinnell College Athletes? And what does it mean to be an athlete at Grinnell College? Current seniors Abby Goreham and Alysia Horcher, along with junior two-sport athlete Ed Hardman, set out to answer those questions for their final project for Organization and Administration of Athletics. They interviewed several coaches within the department, and this video is their answer:

Nice work by Abby, Alysia, and Ed! I think you captured it well. #GCPride

Friday, December 19, 2014

Rich Renteria and David Ternes will be taking the final snaps of their college careers this Saturday at 12:30 Eastern at the D3 Senior Classic in Myrtle Beach, SC. The game is part of the College Development Football League, and features some of the top players from all of Division III. The game will be livecast at: http://www.playcdfl.com/d3.html.

Please take the chance to support Richard and David one more time. GCPride!

Sunday, December 14, 2014

With the conclusion of a decorated career, David Ternes received yet more national recognition. Ternes was announced as a second team all-region player by D3Football.com, the second time in his career Ternes was recognized as all-region (he was a third team selection in 2012). This week he was also recognized as a Cliff Harris Award Finalist, the second year in a row he has been named a finalist. The Cliff Harris Award is for the top defensive player in small college football. David is one of only 18 Division III players named as finalists, and the only from the Midwest Conference.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Right now the news is full of stories that have become very politicized, but at the root of them there are real people whose hurt and pain is real. The events in Ferguson are a prime example of this. At times it is hard to remember that behind all the protests and demonstrations and conversations about our society, there are real people who have suffered a great loss. This post is not about Ferguson, there is no way I could do justice to that, but rather about another situation that is beginning to take on a life of it's own, the future of the UAB football program.

Many of you are likely not aware of the situation, but UAB football has no games scheduled beyond 2016 and have not signed any coaches to contracts beyond 2016. Despite requests for statements of support, the Athletics Director and the President have made no public comment on the rumors of the pending termination of the program.

In the past few weeks many prominent UAB football alums penned a letter to both the President and the AD in support of the program, and yesterday there was a well organized demonstration outside the President's office. The team has even received support from the governor of Alabama. Again, as the issue has grown, it's easy to forget there are real people at the heart of the issue, student-athletes who are privileged to play at the Division 1 level, but who have also given much time and energy to their craft to represent their University in the best way possible. The following letter to the President was written by the current senior class for UAB. It is a great reminder of the passion and unity of a football team:

To Dr. Ray Watts:

As the college football season comes to a close and teams begin to measure their accomplishments, this should be a time for celebrating our progress and dreaming of what we can achieve next. Instead, our team, and all of the student-athletes at UAB, have been left to wonder if our future is about goals, growth, and vision – or if it is about quitting.

For several weeks we have lived and played under a cloud of rumors about the future of the football program at UAB, even as we fought to become bowl eligible for the first time in ten seasons. From our own athletic director and president we have heard no vote of public support. Nothing at all except for questions about whether we can perform at a ‘level of excellence.’We have been left to wonder about our future as, game by game, we got closer to accomplishing goals for our university that most considered impossible heading into this season.

So we ask you, Dr. Watts, where is the excellence in that?

While we have had no support from our president or athletic director, the support from everywhere else has been overwhelming. We have seen our former players rally around us to raise money and urge you to fight for UAB. We have seen the Mayor of Birmingham and the City Council stand in unison and speak out about the value of our program time and time again as they pledged their support and finances.

We have been uplifted by the business leaders in our community who rallied around us and told you that when we win, all of Birmingham wins. We have felt the continuous support from our fellow students, our professors, our alumni, and Blazer fans as attendance at our games grew almost 150% this year. And we have been driven by the support from our own coaches who have shown us the very meaning of the word commitment as they have fought for this university and for us even as their own livelihoods have grown more and more uncertain.

We are honored to play for all of these people.

So if everyone is for us, Dr. Watts, who exactly is against us?

Every one of us has fought for UAB football all year long. Many of us have fought for UAB football every day for the last four years. When we were recruited, we were sold on the very best of what UAB can be, and how UAB would in turn, make us our best. We believed in UAB then, and we believe in UAB now – which is why we will not stop fighting for what is right.

So we ask you to provide the leadership and direction we need. Stand up for your students and alumni. Stand alongside the businesses, leadership and people of Birmingham. And fight for us.Or, with all due respect, look us in the eye and tell us you don’t believe in us.

The UAB Football Senior Class of 2015 on behalf of the UAB football team

I love this letter and the emotion behind it. I'm rooting for UAB and their students and student-athletes. I hope the University will do the right thing and continue to field a team. However this turns out, I'm thankful for the letter penned by the seniors, and for reminding all of us of just how much passion and emotion is involved when you're part of a close-knit team. I'm thankful I'm part of one here at Grinnell! Good luck UAB and Go Pioneers!

Friday, November 28, 2014

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

The Pioneers wrapped up their season with a 52 - 14 victory over Lawrence University. The convincing win was a great way to send out our seniors, while at the same time a great springboard to the recruiting season and into next fall. Now that the season is over, let's take a look at some of the more significant numbers from this past season.

52 - The 52 point outburst against Lawrence was the first 50 point game since 2001 (55 against Carroll University)

Fisher demonstrating fine punting form

39.8 - Yards per punt for Graham Fisher, #24 in the country and a new school record

38 - Points, the largest margin of victory since a 42 - 0 victory over Lawrence in 2009

Daniel Ryerson with his first collegiate carry

14 - Yards rushing in a single game by DEFENSIVE players, obviously not an official stat, but in the victory over Lawrence David Ternes had 1 carry for 7 yards, Daniel Ryerson had 1 for 4 yards, and Rich Renteria had 1 for 3

Ternes looking as tough as ever

14 - Tackles per game for David Ternes, #2 in the country and #4 in school history

11 - Touchbacks on kickoffs for Graham Fisher, a new school record

Renteria scoops this Macalester fumble and returns it for a score

5 - Recovered fumbles by Rich Renteria, #1 in the country and tied for the school record (with Todd McGuire '95)

4.5 - Sacks in one game by David Ternes, #1 in the country and a new school record

Meixler catching yet another long touchdown pass

4 - Touchdown receptions in one game for Jake Meixler, tied for #3 in the country and tied for the school record (with David Snider '98 and Robert Seer '12)

4 - Forced fumbles by Jacob Beecher and David Ternes, tied for a new school record

Bernholtz displaying solid ball security

3 - Fumbles lost on offense, #8 in the country

One of two blocked punts on the day for Morrissette

2 - Blocked punts in a single game by Barrett Morrissette, a school record for a single game and tied for #2 in a season

Saturday, November 22, 2014

David Ternes was recently recognized by BennettRank.com as an Honorable Mention D3 Football Stud of the Year.
Ternes was named for his performance in the first game against
Lawrence, a 29-7 victory for the Pioneers. Ternes recorded 15 tackles,
13 of them solo, as well as 4.5 sacks, one of which was for a safety.
His 4.5 sacks was the most of any division 3 player in a single game
this year, and the new school record for the Pioneers. Congratulations
David!

BennettRank.com is a relatively new website,
with the mission "to advance interest and appreciation for small-school
athletics through
aggregating and publicizing stories about teams, players, fans, and
coaches." Many thanks to the website for honoring David and for
promoting Division 3 football, and small college athletics in general.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

It's late in the day I know, but the Pioneers do want to thank all our veterans today, as well as those that are still actively serving our country. Your willingness to put others ahead of yourselves is what it's all about! Our country was built upon that attitude, and it's one we try to instill in all our student-athletes.

We would also like to give a special shout out to several recent Pioneer football players that are serving in the military in some capacity. This is likely not a complete list, so I apologize in advance to those I miss.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Tomorrow the Pioneers will be hosting Cornell College for a 1:00 kickoff on Rosenbloom Field. It is an important game, as it is our first divisional game, our first game that "counts", and a game against one of our closest rivals. However, it is also a game that I hope will carry importance beyond the what happens between the lines, beyond what the final score shows. Don't get me wrong, I want this one badly and I hope the Pioneers will play up to their full potential, but I hope this game also has deeper meaning to all who attend the game and all who hear about the game.

The GC Pride Campaign is the brainchild of Justin Thaxton, Coordinator for Diversity and Inclusion in Athletics, as well as student leaders from our varsity athletics teams, the Stonewall Resource Center, and Athlete Ally. From the official release:

"The GC Pride Campaign is an effort formed out of the belief that athletics should represent the many identities of Grinnell College and the surrounding world. With the NCAA core value of diversity through a commitment to create and support an inclusive culture that fosters equitable participation for student-athletes in mind, we have partnered with the Stonewall Resource Center, Office of Diversity & Inclusion, Office of Intercultural Engagement & Leadership and Athlete Ally. The athletics department is committed to presenting opportunities to compete and learn that are inclusive of individuals representing all sexual orientations, gender identities, races, religious and cultural beliefs. The GC Pride Campaign offers to us a moment as humans, Grinnellians and global leaders to take action and set the tone for an entire cultural conversation. Together, we are stronger!

The GC Pride Campaign enables the many voices of the Grinnell community to join together in solidarity under a single message: "Athletic fields, teams and competitions are a safe space for Everyone.""

Sometimes the meaning of things can get lost in the fancy language, so I'll just hold on to that last sentence, "Athletic fields, teams and competitions are a safe space for Everyone." I hope we can all agree!

I'd like to thank Justin and all of our Pioneering students and student-athletes here at Grinnell College for dreaming of this event and for making it happen. I'm lucky to be a part of it all. Go Pioneers!
GC Pride!

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Ternes celebrates his sack for a safety with Rich Renteria, Riley Drexler, and TR Jones

Senior linebacker David Ternes has received yet more recognition from his big performance in last weeks game against Lawrence. Ternes has been named the D3 Impact Player of the Week by USA College Football. Ternes is the first Pioneer to have been recognized as the Impact Player of the Week, and as such he's been invited to the 2015 USA Football Bowl to be played in Jackson, MS.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Following a big performance in the Pioneers 29-7 victory over Lawrence, senior linebacker David Ternes has been recognized at both the conference and the national level. On the strength of a game high 15 tackles, including 4.5 sacks, a single game record for the Pioneers, Ternes was named the Midwest Conference Defensive Player of the Week. He's the first Pioneer to be recognized as a Player of the Week this season, and the eighth overall since 2010. David was also named to the d3football.com Team of the Week. A two-time all-conference selection, and two-time pre-season all-american, Ternes leads the conference with 60 tackles and is second with 5.5 sacks.

Late last week, Ternes was also named a semi-finalist for the William V Campbell trophy, presented to the top scholar-athlete in all of college football. Ternes is the second Pioneer to be recognized as semi-finalist, TJ Schaid in 2012 was the other.

The Pioneers look to build on consecutive solid defensive performances in their return home this Saturday. The Pioneers will host the inaugural GC Pride Game this Saturday at 1:00 PM against Cornell College. Stay tuned for details!

Saturday, September 27, 2014

The Pioneers return to play at Rosenbloom for the first time in 2014. In their 125 year history the Pioneers have played on two official home fields. The accounts of the first game against Iowa describe a field west of the present day Forum, on the College's South Campus.

Ward Field, across from the North Campus dormitories.

The first official field though, was Ward Field, on Grinnell's North Campus. Ward Field would eventually be bordered on the West by Mac Field and the North Campus dormitories and on the South by Darby Gymnasium. Once the football team moved to their current location, Ward Field became the home to the men's soccer team at Grinnell, and is currently used for club and intramural sports.

Game action on Ward Field

In 1975 the Pioneers moved to their current location on the north side of 10th Avenue, Rosenbloom Field. Named in honor of Virginia Whitney Rosenbloom '36 and Abe Rosenbloom '34, Rosenbloom field is one of only two remaining natural playing surfaces in the Midwest Conference, and is without a doubt the finest. Abe Rosenbloom was a three year starter for the Pioneers during their days in the Missouri Valley Conference. He was named All-Conference in both 1932 and 1933. With no track surrounding the field, the seating is very close to the action, creating one of the more intimate atmospheres in the midwest.

The Honor G

The Honor G, the official emblem of Grinnell College athletics, was first used at the Iowa state track championship in 1892. Designed by Earnest "Skip" Atherton, class of 1895, the original Honor G consisted of a scarlet maltese cross with a black "I and "C" (for Iowa College) superimposed on the cross. Two years later in 1894, the "I" and "C" were replaced by a black gothic "G", and the modern day Honor G was born. The gothic "G", which was also used on letter sweaters and is now used on letter jackets, was replaced by an Old English "G" in the mid-1930's. After some protest, it was quickly changed back to the gothic "G", and it has remained unchanged since that time.